The last of Dynacraft’s Experiments in Fun events is scheduled to take place in Portland on Saturday. For one day only, kids are invited to wheel over to Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square to find a biker-themed pop-up juice joint, set inside a fully transformed shipping container complete with a temporary tattoo parlor and a karaoke stage.

The Toy Book (TTB): In what new ways are you using social media to correspond directly with consumers?

Mattel: We engage with consumers across all brand and corporate social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as retailer sites, like Wal-Mart and Kohl’s. At Mattel, we have a fully functioning reporting and engineering team dedicated to understanding what the consumer is saying and turning that data into actionable improvements for both our manufacturing and design process.

Jakks Pacific Inc. has been granted the rights to manufacture, market, and distribute a line of consumer products based on the Minions from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me franchise, as well as their upcoming film, Minions, which arrives in theaters in July. The licensing agreement, awarded by Universal Partnerships & Licensing, covers inflatable ball pits, wagons, arcade games, The Original Big Wheel, outdoor children’s furniture, and more. These products are expected to launch at North American retailers this spring.

“We are pleased to be a part of the phenomenally successful Despicable Me franchise, and the highly anticipated Minions film, by offering an array of products that feature popular characters from the films,” says Tara Hefter, vice president of licensing, Jakks Pacific Inc. “We are excited to bring a new line of products to these films’ fans.”

Imagine by Rubie’s, a toy division of Rubie’s Costume Company Inc., is expanding its offerings with new products and accessories. Available for children in separates and box sets, every unique ensemble provides kids the opportunity to dress-up as their favorite character 365 days of the year.

Due in stores this December, the Mega Bloks Despicable Me construction sets will offer fully buildable characters, locations, and vehicles inspired by Despicable Me 2. The line’s customizable construction sets will include mix-and-match features, such as interchangeable accessories. In addition, each set will feature buildable Minions that are unique to the set, for a variety of Minions to collect, build, and play with.

To launch the line, seven fans will participate in the #MinionMontage Challenge on social media. Fans can visit the Mega Bloks Facebook page to see highlights.

Licensing Expo, the annual meeting place for the global licensing industry, occurred last week in Las Vegas. The exhibitors included a number of the top toy companies, which were on-hand showing off upcoming play products and making announcements about new licensing deals.

Check out this exclusive gallery, which features lots of the licensed toys that we’re all sure to be excited about in the months ahead. [Read more...]

Google has released its annual Zeitgeist—a “spirit of the times”—which gives us a chance to remember the people, places and topics that got us talking, and ultimately searching, before a new year begins. The list of top toy searches features new toys such as Minions and Palace Pets, but also old favorites, such as Play-Doh. Here are the top 10 trending toy searches this year:

Pokémon

Play-Doh

Digimon Fusion

Minecraft Toys

Minions

Palace Pets

Paw Patrol

Pacific Rim Toys

My Little Pony

Disney Planes

The 2013 Zeitgeist site provides more than 1000 top-10 lists of popular and trending searches from 72 countries, making it the most comprehensive and global list to date.

My Baby Excels (MBE), along with Thinkway Toys, released a new line of toys in India, based on the characters of Despicable Me 2.The toy range includes interactive figures like Gru, Agnes, and the yellow minions Stuart and Dave. All the toys are suitable for kids ages 4 and up, and are available at leading retail stores like Hamley’s, Landmark, Shopper Stop, Lifestyle among others as well as on the leading E-commerce websites like Flipkart.com

New Products

Marvel’s Ant-Man is still going strong in theaters, and so is Disney Consumer Products’ (DCP) and Marvel‘s Ant-Man product collection. The lineup includes costumes, construction sets, action figures, and more from licensees such as Hasbro, LEGO, Funko, Hot Wheels, Rubie’s Costume Co., and Uncle Milton.

Skechers USA Inc. has partnered with Jakks Pacific Inc. to launch a new line of dolls based on Skechers’ popular Twinkle Toes character. The initial launch includes four unique dolls that stand 6.5 inches in height, and are dressed in colorful, fashion-forward outfits and light-up Skechers Twinkle Toes shoes.

LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. will release three new preschool toys—the Number Lovin’ Oven and Scout’s Build & Discover Tool Set, which offer pretend play experiences that teach math and measurement, respectively—and the Word Whammer, a phonics game that prepares children for kindergarten in an active way.

Now available from VTech, Flipsies combine traditional role play with collectible dolls and accessories, as well as VTech’s proprietary MagicPoint interactive technology. The line offers a variety of ways to play and has eight introductory themes that encourage girls to be anything they want to be, whether it’s a doctor, a marine biologist, a teacher, [...]

Merchantwise, ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s appointed licensing agency in Australia, has announced strong toy and DVD sales, as well as a host of new licensing and retail partners, for the TV series Thunderbirds Are Go in Australia.